I've Got To Go, It's Starting To Rain'
by MogamusII
Summary: Kurt disappeared during the summer of 2010, vanishing without a trace. Six years later, just as he is starting his new job at McKinley High, Kurt turns up on Finn's doorstep, half starved, half blind and haunted. And Finn has no idea what to do.


Someone, or several someones, had tied flowers to the tree outside the building that had once been Hummel's Tyres and Lube. Finn thought that it was stupid because people did that where there had been a car crash and Kurt hadn't died in a car crash. In fact, Finn refused to believe that Kurt was dead. His mom would get that sad look in her eyes whenever he referred to Kurt in the present tense instead of the past and Mercedes went all quiet and miserable if you even mentioned his name.

Finn rubbed at his eyes angrily and sat on the ground at the roots of the tree.

"Hey, Kurt." He looked up at the sky as he spoke. "It's been one year since…"

_"What's going on?" Finn stormed into the house, pushing past a man in uniform to get to his mom. She'd been crying and she was shaking as she took his hand. "Mom? Why are the cops here? What happened? Are you hurt?"_

_"F-finn." Fresh tears ran down her cheeks as she tried to talk. "Kurt. It's Kurt, he- he's gone."_

"…Since you went away. It feels like a lot more than that because so much has happened. We won regionals. Rachel had this idea that we dedicate our songs to you. I think you'd have laughed about that, if you'd been there. But if you were there then we wouldn't need dedicate them, would we? Sorry, I'm rambling. What else was I going to say? Oh, yeah, your dad shut down the shop. He says that he can't bear to go in there. I know you don't want him to do that, but no one listens to me, except you. You listen to me and you actually seem interested. I miss you, Kurt."

Even though he thought it was stupid, he tied a rose to the tree with a length of twine.

"You don't know what you're missing 'til it's gone. And yes, I am drunk." Finn said savagely.

Weather-faded photos smiled at him. Someone had placed fresh flowers between the roots and he knew without looking that the cards would say 'Love from Mercedes' and 'I still miss you, Son.'

"This is crap." Finn growled. "Everything. Why don't you come back?"

"Finn, you've got to stop doing this to yourself." Quinn's voice made him jump.

"What are you doing here?" He asked rudely, glaring at her. "You are my nem-nemi-sis. Nemininsis. Nemesis."

"No I'm not." Quinn sighed, "You're just drunk." Finn scowled.

"You are. My Nemesis. If you hadn't…" For a moment he seemed to have trouble controlling the movement of his mouth, "…gotpregnant. I wouldn't have had to sing to a sonogram and be his friend and be'nidiot anfallinove. 'Syour fault." He slurred.

Quinn stared at him doubtfully. "You are aware that I couldn't understand a word of that, right?" She sat down next to him. "To answer your previous question, I am here on Mercedes' orders to stop you from falling into a black pit of despair."

"Too late." Finn sniffled.

"Finn, it's been two years."

"And five hours. Two years, five hours."

"That is exactly what I mean! Do you really think that this is what Kurt would've wanted?"

"What he wants."

"Finn…"

"He's still alive. I'm not giving up, even if everyone else has."

"Finn, even Burt has given up."

"He moved away." He looked so miserable that Quinn put an arm around him to give him a hug.

"He did what he needed to do to cope with the memories, which is what you should be doing."

"You think I should move?" Finn asked, nonplussed.

"No, not necessarily. I just think you should get on with your life and stop talking to a tree." Her frown softened when Finn flinched.

"Get your life back, Finn. Sing more than two words in Glee, talk to people, eat properly, work hard, go to college, and find a job that you want to do. I don't want to have lost two friends."

"Hey, Kurt." Finn patted the tree trunk affectionately. "I wish you could've come to college; it's awesome." Finn smiled, "You'd be so proud of Mercedes; she just got a record deal. I think you'd be kinda proud of me too. I'm learning to be a teacher and I'm going to teach kids to sing, like Mr Schue did, so I'm studying really hard. This girl, Michaela, she's been helping me. I like her, and I think she might really like me, but…" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Is it weird that I don't want to date anyone since that bastard took you away? It's not even like I was dating you because I was being an idiot. A scared, weak idiot who missed his chance. I think, what if that happens again? She'll find someone else, I know she will. She's too lovely not to have someone. But I think about asking her and find that I don't really want to." Finn wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "I've got to go. It's starting to rain."

_Dear Kurt,_

_College is going great. Bumped into Puck the other day, he hasn't changed a bit._

_I'm dating again. I met this guy…I know. I think you would have killed me if you were here. Anyway, he's really nice. _

_Miss you forever,_

_Finn xxx_

"Hey. I'm so sorry I missed coming here last year. Things got kind of hectic with graduating and finding my own place." Finn scuffed his feet. "I'm really sorry. I can't believe you've been gone for six years. It doesn't seem possible. Sometimes when I visit Mom I still expect to see you down in the basement doing one of your regimes in front of the mirror, or dancing to Gaga in the kitchen. I wonder what you'd…what you look like now?" Finn took a deep breath, not quite sure of what to say. "I, uh, broke up with Sam. It wasn't working, I guess." He brightened up, "You'd hate my apartment. It's tiny and you know that my housekeeping is terrible. I have learned to cook though, you'll be pleased to know, and I'm actually pretty good." He bit his lip. "I didn't get out of Lima. I'm working at McKinley, starting tomorrow. I went for a visit yesterday and you won't believe this- I was slushied. I'm a teacher! Is that irony? Oh, and Sue's still around. She hasn't changed a bit, as you might have guessed. She bought a bigger megaphone." He gave a little sigh. "I've gotta get going now Kurt. Talk to you next year."

Part II: Return

It was weird, being back in high school, even as a member of the staff. The strangest thing was being allowed in the staff room without teachers staring and wondering if you'd got lost. Finn was wandering aimlessly through the corridors (something else you were allowed to do when you were a teacher) when he heard a weird noise, a sort of high pitched 'Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnn!' noise. Huh, weird. Then he was almost knocked over as someone leapt, wrapping their limbs around him. For a couple of moments, all Finn was aware of was blond hair.

"Brittany?" He broke free from the suffocating hug and the blonde woman smiled widely. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a teacher." She smiled, twisting a lock of her hair around her finger in a way that was possibly meant to be seductive.

"Teaching what?" Finn asked, trying to work out who would employ Brittany in education.

"I can't remember. Drama, maybe?" She replied happily, twirling.

"Uh, cool. I've got a class now, Brit, but we can catch up sometime?" It was nice to see a familiar face.

"Yeah!" She beamed and went up on tiptoes to kiss Finn's cheek, which he wished she hadn't done because if any students saw (and Finn was convinced that they were the ones who ran the security cameras) there would be rumours flying by the last bell.

"That's funny." Brittany smiled serenely, "Your cheeks are as soft as Kurt's hands." She danced away, leaving Finn feel shocked and cold, like ice piercing through his heart. He'd become so used to no one even mentioning Kurt's name that the sound of it sent painful shivers up his spine, supressed grief making his stomach turn.

"Snap out of it!" He growled to himself, terrifying a passing student, and walked quickly toward his music class.

He never wanted to hear 'It's All Too Much' ever again. Yeah, it was a great song, but he'd heard it endlessly over the last few days and even Ella, the red-headed reincarnation of Rachel Berry, was sick of it. He slumped face-down on the couch that seemed to take up the whole room. It wasn't that it was a particularly big couch, in fact his feet stuck off the end when he lay down, it was just a tiny, tiny room. A tiny room that was bigger than his bedroom and the kitchen put together. Not to mention the bathroom. But he could afford it and still have money left over for general survival and video games. He had his priorities straight.

'Bing bing bing!' Okay, seriously annoying doorbell, he'd have to see if he could replace it. 'Bing bing bing!' He really didn't want to get up. High schoolers were exhausting; he didn't know how Mr. Schue had coped. 'Bing bing-' He got to his feet with a groan and shuffled all three steps to the door, wrenching it open. He needed to replace the latch t…

It took a minute for Finn to recognise the young man (barely) standing on his doorstep. His hair, which was slightly longer than he remembered and looking as though it had been cut by a child with safety scissors, was plastered to his head from the rain, his thin shirt ripped and sticking to his skin. He looked haunted.

"K-Kurt?" Finn asked uncertainly. Kurt didn't respond, but he didn't need to because he was so obviously Kurt Hummel that Finn was crying. He reached out a hand and touched Kurt's shoulder, just to make sure he wasn't a hallucination brought on by Brittany's weird comment earlier and that cheese Ella had given him at lunch, and Kurt started, pulling away and looking at Finn's hand warily.

"Hey, it's okay. Do you want to come in?" Kurt stared at him for a long moment before nodding and wobbling forward until Finn could close the door behind them. "Do you want to sit down?" Finn asked. Kurt just stared up at him in a daze, following every slight movement Finn made. Slowly he raised his hand and Finn froze, barely daring to breathe as Kurt reached out tentatively, cold fingers touching Finn's cheek.

"Finn?" His voice sounded rough, unused.

"Yeah, it's me." Finn said softly and slowly drew Kurt into a hug, giving him every chance to pull away, but to his surprise Kurt suddenly wrapped his arms around him tightly, burying his nose in Finn's sweater and shivering gently. Finn pulled him to the couch and sat down, Kurt folding into his lap. He dragged the blanket over them with one hand, reluctant to let Kurt go even for a moment.

"You're actually here." He murmured, almost disbelieving that it could possibly be true. "What happened to you?"

Kurt tensed in his arms. "I-I can't…" He took in a shuddering breath, eyes filling with tears, "Not, not now…I can't…"

"Shh, shh it's okay." Finn soothed, running a hand up and down Kurt's back. The young man's eyelids fluttered, and he sighed deeply as he seemed to melt against Finn's chest.

"I can't believe you're really here." Finn marvelled. "I knew you were alive but I was starting to- no. I actually believed that I would never see you again. I'm sorry."

When Kurt didn't reply he looked down to see that Kurt's eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and slow. Finn lifted the sleeping man in his arms and climbed across the messy floor to his bedroom. Kurt felt so light and delicate that Finn worried that he might snap as he laid him down on the bed. His hand was still curled tightly in Finn's sweater and he had to carefully coax the fingers open so that he could get a spare T-shirt from the clean pile in the corner (He had yet to buy something to keep his clothes in, and wasn't sure where he'd put it if he did.). Finn noticed, for the first time, the state of the clothes that Kurt was wearing. They were several sizes too big, stained and, in the shirt's case, ripped up one side. When he removed the shirt Finn was relieved to find no noticeable injuries, the only mark on his skin was the white line of a scar running from the top of his hip to partway up his side. The thing that did alarm him, however, was the fact that he could clearly see each of Kurt's ribs sticking out; his arms and legs, too, were thinner than he remembered. Finn's fists clenched and he hoped that they would be able to catch the guy that caused this and lock him up for a long, long time.

"Hey, Mom. I guess you're out. I'll call you back later, it's important. Love you, bye." Finn put the phone down and sank back into the couch. The situation was finally catching up with him. Kurt had shown up, out of the blue, after six years during which almost everyone had given him up for dead. What had happened to him in that time? He wouldn't be the same as the sixteen-year-old boy he had been… What if Finn couldn't help him?

"No! Let me out!" Finn was on his feet and rushing to his bedroom the moment Kurt screamed, flicking on the light and almost falling over in his haste to reach the bed, where Kurt was tangled in the sheets, fighting and whimpering in his sleep.

"Please let me go home, please. I want to go home."

"Kurt. Kurt, wake up." Finn knelt beside him on the bed, shaking his shoulder gently.

Kurt's eyes flicked open, staring blankly at him as his chest heaved with panicked breaths.

"Hey, it's okay, you're awake." Finn carefully placed his hand against Kurt's chest, hoping his solid presence would help drive away the nightmare.

"Finn?" Kurt reached out, touching his face again and Finn felt a sudden pang of fear.

"Kurt? Can you…can you see me?"

"No…I just…I can only see blurs and patches of light," Kurt replied and again Finn noticed how rough his voice was.

"Why?"

"Can I tell you tomorrow?" Kurt said sleepily, head sinking back into the pillow.

"Okay," Finn whispered and moved to get up, but Kurt stuck his hand out, grabbing for his arm.

"No!" he gasped. "Sorry, I just… can you stay? Just for a while?"

"Of course I can. Move over."

Kurt shuffled across the bed and Finn lay down beside him.

"Be warned: I might doze off, I've had a long day. D'you want the light off?"

"N-no, I'd rather it was on. Please." He rested his head against Finn's shoulder and closed his eyes.

" 'night Finn." Finn couldn't hold back a smile, despite all the problems he was sure would come knocking on his door in the foreseeable future. Kurt was half-blind, half-starved, haunted and afraid. But most importantly, Kurt was back.

Part III: Six Years Earlier.

Kurt was beyond annoyed. He slammed the door of Finn's car and stalked into his dad's garage.

"Idiot." He hissed as Finn pulled away. Honestly, didn't Finn know what he was doing? He had to know that he was flirting, really, surely. Finn kept on flirting with him and Kurt was having trouble stopping himself from flirting back. He knew that if he did so, Finn would freak and while he wouldn't explode at him like he did in the redecorating fiasco, he would still hurt Kurt. He wouldn't be able to help it. He hurt Kurt just by being straight.

"You're in a mood," his dad observed as he stalked into the garage office.

Kurt just grunted in reply, something he wouldn't normally even dream of doing, but this was a special exception.

"Whoa, okay, think I'd better get going. Lucky there's only one appointment for you today," Burt said, raising an eyebrow amusedly. "Mr. Olivers will be here in half an hour, okay? Try not to murder him in a fit of teenage rage, yeah?"

Kurt gave a longsuffering sigh.

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything. Now, you get home and have a nice long evening with Carole."

He ducked away as Burt tried to ruffle his hair with an oily hand. "Daaad, not the hair," he whined and Burt laughed until he was out of earshot.

Kurt puttered around in the garage for a while, sorting scattered tools into boxes and making sure the books were in order, until he heard the ring of the bell that meant a customer had arrived.

"I'm in the back!" He shouted, dumping a sheaf of papers on a stool. "Sorry, you're early. I was just- Oh, hello, I thought you were someone else." Kurt didn't recall seeing this man before in the shop.

"How can I help you? I have an appointment in fifteen minutes and then I'm closing up, but if it's something quick I might be able to do something."

"Could you have a look at my car? I think there's something up with my breaks and I really need to get home." The man said.

Kurt smiled and nodded. "Sure."

The man was quite attractive, in a weird older-guy-way. He was in his early thirties or late twenties, with short hair and broad shoulders, like Finn. Oh, Finn.

"Erm, you coming?" the guy asked, obviously in a hurry. Kurt blushed, feeling guilty for day dreaming about Finn when he was supposed to be working. The guy (he really should ask his name) grinned. "Lead the way."

Looking back, Kurt thought he should have sensed something wrong then: surely he didn't need leading to where he had just parked his car? As Kurt walked past him, a hand grabbed his arm, another clapping down over his mouth. Kurt instantly started struggling, instinct from years of being bullied taking over. The man's strong grip lifted him off the floor and he swung his foot, kicking his captor's shin on the first blow and his knee on the second. The man let go in surprise and Kurt fell forward, only just catching himself before he hit the floor. He barrelled towards the door, but big hands caught him around the waist and pulled him roughly backwards. His heel caught on something, tripping him and he fell into the man. Pain lanced through his side and he screamed, legs buckling beneath him. His attacker let him down onto the floor almost gently and Kurt's eyes rolled, seeing the handle of a blade in his side.

"You clumsy idiot!" Fingers scrabbled at his side and Kurt thought that he might throw up. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" Kurt really couldn't care less what was supposed to have happened. He wished that he'd accepted Finn's offer of a DVD night and a lift home. Then his vision was swamped with white, then red, and finally black.

Kurt's eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark, picking out shapes in the gloom. He had been awake for about an hour, mildly nauseous and with a deep ache in his side. Slowly his memories returned and his hand flew to his hip, and feeling under the baggy shirt he found a line of raised stitches a couple of inches long. He retched violently, choking on sobs that he'd been holding back since he'd regained consciousness.

"Kuuurt!" The Man's voice came out of nowhere and Kurt shrieked, scrabbling back into a corner.

"Oh, come on, don't be scared." There was a crackling sound whenever The Man spoke, like his voice was coming through a speaker. Kurt relaxed slightly as he realised it was just that- he was speaking to him from outside of the room.

"I'm not scared, you just made me jump," he growled, wobbling to his feet. His side ached in protest.

"I hope you're not moving around too much down there," The Man warned, "those stitches are good, but you must do as the doctor said…"

"You took me to a doctor?" Kurt asked, trying to dredge up fuzzy memories, but not finding any.

"Oh, please," The Man sniffed, "what d'you think I am, crazy? I am a doctor."

"What are you going to do to me?" Kurt said quietly, throat becoming painfully dry as he remembered news reports and newspaper articles about kids who'd been kidnapped.

"Kurt, you're my pet. I'm going to look after you down there. What did you think I would do? I'm not sick, you know." There was a click as the speaker switched off and Kurt stared up at the ceiling incredulously.

"You could have fooled me."

Assuming that The Man was feeding him three times a day, Kurt had been down in what he'd decided was a basement for five days. He'd gone through the terrified phase in the first couple of days, then moved swiftly on through angry, despairing and defiance. Now, he was just bored.

Ignoring the painful tugging in his side he felt his way over to the door and rattled the handle half-heartedly. It was becoming a routine, check the door, shout, pace. He thought he'd go mad if he did this much longer.

Day 360

Crash.

Daylight flooded in.

Kurt sat up, blinking at the figure in the doorway.

"Finn?"

"I'm here. I'm taking you home. I love you."

Day 361

Bang.

The Man's body crumpled and Finn stepped over him. He scooped Kurt up in his arms.

Day 362

Kurt woke up.

"Hey." Mercedes smiled down at him. "It' okay, Finn got you out. You're safe now."

Day 363

Kurt ran his hands over the piano keys and smirked as he felt Finn's lips brush the back of his neck.

Day 364

Kurt clung to Finn and decided that he would never let go.

"It's lucky you didn't get here any later, or I'd have been here for a year."

365

Maybe he'd miscounted?

366

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

Thump. Thud.

"Hello?" Kurt stared into the darkness.

"Who's there? Why am I in here?" Someone replied, sounding confused and familiar.

"Finn?"

"Kurt, you're here?"

"Did he get you too?" Kurt's hand found Finn's.

"Yeah. But I'm glad I know where you are now."

367

"We're so pleased to have you back, Kurt. I think you should have this solo."

Finn's proud smile lit up the room.

368

"Finn?" Do you mind if I keep the light on tonight?"

"Of course I don't mind. I love you"

Day 730

The Man forgot to feed him for the first time.

Day 1095

Kurt wondered if he was still alive.

Day 1825

Five years. Half a decade.

"Sorry I took so long." Finn whispered.

Day 2188

In two days he would have been in the basement for six years. Or at least, he thought he would. Kurt wasn't always sure what was real anymore.

Routine time. Kurt didn't do the shouting part anymore, but he still paced. He needed to get his exercise to keep his weight down, or coach Sylvester would kick him out of the Cheerios for sure.

Check the door. Kurt knew every inch of his prison now and didn't need to feel his way around anymore. He found the handle, twisted.

Click.

That was new. Kurt's heart started pounding, something new.

The door swung open.

Kurt stared at where he knew the door was, felt it carefully. Yes, it was definitely open. He crept back to his corner and curled up, thinking hard. The door was open. Why?

In his imagination, he walked out of the door and into sunlight. It was warm on his skin. Finn was waiting for him and they ran, escaping The Man together.

Kurt uncurled cautiously and walked back over to the door. His fingers danced along the edge, feeling cold, heavy metal. He could smell fresh air. He stepped forward and tripped as his feet met concrete stairs and froze, waiting for a moment before moving forward on his hands and knees like a child, crawling up. At what he assumed was the top he found another door. This one was older, made of wood that let tiny trickles of light through, making Kurt's eyes ache. When he touched it, he could feel that the wood was rotten and slimy, so he gave a weak push and it fell away.

Summer sunlight flooded in and Kurt's eyes burned.

He stumbled out, feeling grass under his bare feet, clutching at his face. The light pierced his eyes like a thousand hot needles, he couldn't see, couldn't think past the pain.

The Man. The Man could see, would see him escaping. Kurt tried to run, but he crashed into something that clattered and clanged loudly when he knocked it over. He lurched the other way and tried again, this time miraculously finding a path that had fewer such obstacles.

He kept running, sobbing as the pain in his eyes increased, tears running down his face. Suddenly the ground vanished beneath him and he dropped, falling, hitting things. His head collided with a rock, making a sharp cracking noise that-

Part IV

There was a small thump, then the sound of cascading magazines. Finn groaned sleepily, forcing his eyes open and reluctantly pulling himself into a sort-of-upright position.

"Kurt?" Kurt was fumbling around the room, confused and blinking rapidly. Finn, suddenly feeling far more awake at the sight of his friend, climbed out of bed and made his way carefully across the cluttered floor.

"Hey, slow down." He put a hand on Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt stopped, looking in Finn's direction. "I-I can't see you." He sounded lost.

Finn put a hand under his chin and tilted his head up and a little to the left. "There. Looking right at me." He smiled.

"You're smiling." Kurt said quietly. "I can hear it."

"Where were you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Kurt was blinking fast again and Finn realised that he was trying to clear his eyes.

"Kurt, you were gone for six years-"

"Exactly six. Yesterday. I counted." His hand wandered across Finn's chest from shoulder to shoulder.

"And you turned up on my doorstep at six years and three hours. I counted too. That's my point- You were gone. No one knew where you were, I didn't know, your dad didn't know-"

"Don't tell him." Kurt said suddenly, flinching at the mention of his father. "Don't tell him I'm back."

"Why not?" Finn knew that he shouldn't be angry, or at least, not with Kurt, but frustration was overwhelming his rational thoughts. "When you went, Kurt it was like he went too. He was so distant. He shut down the shop and just stopped…"

Kurt turned, twisting away and felt for the bed before dropping onto it. "I-I'm sorry," he whispered. "Sorry. Sorry…" He didn't seem to know what to say and Finn felt a lurch of guilt in his stomach. It wasn't Kurt's fault.

"It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have gotten angry at you." He sank down on the bed with a sigh.

"A basement. I-in Lima." Kurt's voice was so quiet that Finn almost missed it.

"Lima? You…all along you were there…"

"I really don't want to talk about it." Kurt said, his voice muffled by the bedcovers. Finn swallowed and nodded. He wouldn't talk about it, but he was worried he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about Kurt, alone, underground and somewhere that he could have- probably had- walked right past. What if it was one of the houses he'd called at with the missing posters?

"Excuse me Sir, have you seen this boy?"

"No, sorry, Son." He shuts his door, then goes downstairs into the cold and damp to do-

Finn froze up at the thought. What had he done to Kurt?

But he couldn't ask, and instead just lied down next to him, stroking his hair like his mom had done when he was ill as a child. He hoped Kurt liked it.

"I just want everything to go back to normal," Kurt said quietly.

"Then, I think we should go to a doctor about your eyes." Finn suggested carefully, remembering Kurt's distaste for hospitals and expecting a refusal from the smaller man.

"They do hurt." Kurt admitted.

"Right. ER it is." Finn sat up and Kurt struggled upright beside him.

"I need clothes." Kurt announced and for the first time, Finn felt a flicker of hope that they might eventually have something that resembled normality.

"Right, well, you'll have to borrow something of mine, so I'll just get-"

"No, no no no. You won't 'just get something,' Finn. I do not wear 'just got.'" Kurt shuffled to look in Finn's general direction. "Tell me colours. I would ask for brands, but I don't think you have any worth requesting, unless your tastes have miraculously improved." Finn couldn't help but grin. A small smile graced Kurt's lips for a moment.

"Okay, uhm…I have a blue shirt, a red one…"

"Wait, wait. What type of red?"

"Uhh…dark?"

Kurt groaned, presumably, Finn thought, at his lack of precise colour names.

"Give it to me?" Kurt reached out a hand in the wrong direction.

"Here." Finn handed him the shirt and watched with some amusement as Kurt felt the material, felt around the edges to work out the size and finally sniffed it.

"Well, at least it's clean," he said with a small sigh. He paused suddenly, cheeks flushing red.

"Kurt, are you okay?" Finn rushed to his side.

"I'm not…not wearing pants," Kurt mumbled, "or underwear."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. You were asleep and…yeah." They were both blushing now and Finn quickly grabbed a pair of sweatpants. "Sorry, I know you hate them but there's no way my jeans would fit you." Kurt nodded in agreement, face still red.

Finn turned away until he'd dressed, thoughts flying in his head like a whirlwind. He'd always thought that if Kurt hadn't disappeared, something would have eventually happened between them. Kurt had liked him and he, eventually, had liked Kurt. But now…Who knew what Kurt had been through? What had happened while he was down in that cellar? So, Finn would be a good no-longer-almost-stepbrother, and nothing more.

"Use the eye drops for the next few days, wear sunglasses and take the painkillers if you need them," the doctor instructed, hurrying them out the door. "Your eyes will be fine, Mr. Hummel. Give it a week. Maybe two."

"He couldn't wait to get rid of you," Finn said with a small smile. Kurt clung to his arm, the other hand following the wall as they made their way through the hospital corridors and out into the parking lot. "I'm not really surprised, after the way you behaved in there." Finn teased gently, and Kurt stuck out his tongue childishly, earning a glare from a woman parking her car.

"Kurt, I'm over here." Finn chuckled.

"I've just humiliated myself by unintentionally insulting someone, haven't I?"

"Yup. If looks could kill…" Finn opened the car door and went straight to the glove compartment.

"Here you are, sunglasses." He put them on gently, hooking the arms over Kurt's ears and almost-accidentally letting his thumb brush his cheek. "There."

"Thank you."

Finn helped him into the car.

"I've got to get to work, but I'll drop you back at my place first, yeah? The doctor said you need to stay in a dark room…"

"Okay." Kurt's voice was a little quiet.

"You sure you'll be alright? It's just that, although Figgins will employ anyone, I don't want to be taking the day off on my second day."

"Sure, I'll be fine." His voice was still quiet. Finn had been getting used to seeing him smile and talk normally and the sudden change was making him feel…uneasy. But if Kurt gripped his arm a little tighter on the way up to his apartment, he didn't say anything.

"Right, guys." Finn clapped his hands, trying to get his students' attention and, for the most part, failing. "Please, guys." Maybe he wasn't cut out for teaching. This was Glee Club, it was meant to be extracurricular. Didn't that mean these kids wanted to be here?

"You need to project, Mr Hudson." Ella said helpfully from her front row seat. Finn kept calling her Rachel. Was it a Glee thing, attracting crazy girls who breathed Broadway?

'Brrrp brrrp brrrrrrrrp brrrp.'

"Okay, whose phone?" Finn shouted over the noise.

Colin, a hulking footballer with a list of ex-boyfriends as long as his arm, raised an eyebrow. "I think it's yours, Sir."

Finn checked. It was. He really needed to stop changing his ringtone around, it was getting confusing.

"Hello?"

"Hey Finn? It's Ali."

"Hey, I'm at work right now-"

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to say, I saw this really scruffy kid wandering around outside yesterday and I just saw him again. I think he might've been in your apartment, but I don't think he took anything and I showed him the door, of course. I think he's kind of crazy…"

Finn ended the call and ran for the door, shouting as he went. "Glee Club's over, Guys. Sorry!"

He ran out into the parking lot, scrambling in his pockets for his keys. He stopped when he saw his car, and swore loudly. Someone had slashed his tyres. Finn froze, his brain short-circuited, he couldn't think.

"Hey, Sir!"

"Go away, Rachel."

"My name is Ella. I don't know why you keep forgetting that."

"Now really isn't a good time."

"I thought you were in a hurry. Why are you just standing there? Is that your car? Did someone slash your tyres?"

"Do you ever stop talking?"

"I don't think you're supposed to talk to students like that. Unless you're coach Sylvester." Ella pouted and folded her arms.

"Sorry. I just really need to get back to my apartment because my friend is ill and why did they have to pick today to vandalise my car?" Finn really wanted to kick something. Hard.

"Why didn't you say so?" Ella went from indignant to beaming in a matter of seconds. "I can drive!"

By 'I can drive,' Finn decided his pupil must have meant 'I shouldn't be allowed on the road, or even in the immediate vicinity of something with wheels.' If it wasn't for his desperate need to get to Kurt, he would have jumped out of the vehicle a couple of miles back. Instead he hung on grimly and gave directions through gritted teeth until Ella happily backed her car into a dumpster outside Finn's apartment building. He mumbled a thank you and stumbled out of the car.

"Kurt!" He yelled, looking around. No answer and no sign of Kurt. Why had Ali kicked him out? Couldn't she tell there was something wrong? Why hadn't Kurt explained?

"Who are we looking for?" Ella appeared at his elbow making him jump.

"Ella, shut up." He snapped irritably. He started walking around the building to the main door. Maybe Kurt wouldn't have gone too far. Oh, god what if he'd wandered out into the road? What if he was hurt, or worse? He shouldn't have left him…

"Mr. Hudson, over there!" Ella pointed. A crouched figure huddled up by a low wall. Finn ran over to him, ignoring Ella's screech and the loud sound of a horn.

"Kurt…" Finn grabbed Kurt's shoulders and he screamed, lashing out and knocking Finn backwards. He lurched to his feet and edged backwards, moving his head agitatedly from side to side. At some point he must have dropped the sunglasses and his red shirt was muddy up one side, his small hands clenched into tight fists. Finn got slowly to his feet, rubbing his jaw. That was going to bruise.

"Kurt, it's all right. It's me."

At his voice, Kurt flinched and swung to face him. "Leave me alone," he whimpered, backing away. "It's too dark."

"Kurt. It'll be okay." Finn edged towards him, reaching out a hand.

"It's not okay!" Kurt shrieked, "How could I be okay?"

Ella dashed forward, colliding with Kurt and knocking him flying. They fell together in a tangle of limbs.

"Ella, what the hell?" Finn dragged her off Kurt.

"I was helping!" She protested. Finn glared at her as Kurt sat up.

"No more 'helping' okay?" He turned to Kurt. For a moment he thought he was going to hit him again, but Kurt just shuffled forward reaching out to him. Finn took his hands and pulled him close. Kurt pressed his face against Finn's shoulder and Finn felt hot tears against his neck.

"Hey, ssh, it's-" _'_It's not okay! How could I be okay?' "I've got you. You're safe. I've got you."

Ella pressed elevator buttons and opened doors as Finn half-carried, half-led Kurt back to his apartment. Kurt seemed desperate to keep as much body contact as he could, which made things pretty difficult, but eventually they made it. Finn was briefly glad that Ella had stayed to help ("Ella, can you make tea?") and she puttered around his cramped little kitchen as he pulled the curtains over the windows and settled Kurt on the sofa, feeling an ache in the vicinity of his heart as the young man sank sleepily into the deep cushions.

"So dark," he murmured sleepily. Finn lifted and arranged him so that he was lying comfortably with his head in Finn's lap.

"Got to escape and get home." Kurt informed him, eyes shut. "Dad's waiting. DVD night with Finn."

Finn leaned down awkwardly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll let you chose which movie we watch," he promised, brushing Kurt's bangs from his eyes. "Just get some sleep now, yeah?"

"Yeah." Kurt smiled.

Ella arrived a minute later with mugs of tea.

"Is he asleep?" She perched on the arm of the sofa.

Finn nodded and took his cup, feeling the warmth seep from it and into his hands. He hadn't realised he was so cold. "You should be getting home. Your parents will worry."

Ella shook her head. "She's working this evening. And Glee wouldn't have finished yet, anyway. I'll finish my tea."

Finn felt guilty for wanting her gone. "I shouldn't have left him," he found himself saying. "I just wanted to believe that it was all over. That he was fine. I'm such an idiot. How could he be fine?"

"What happened to him?"

Finn didn't really want to tell her, but the words just seemed to pour out of his mouth. "He was kidnapped six years ago. Everyone thought he was dead, because there was a lot of blood and time went past and he wasn't found. Then yesterday he just…showed up. He escaped, I guess. He can't see. The doctor said the light, like, did something to his eyes. But they heal really quick, so that's good. I really don't know why I'm telling you all of this."

"Is that him?" Ella picked up a framed photo from the coffee table.

("Boys! Smile!" Carole laughed exasperatedly and pointed the camera at them again. "You can't escape, Kurt. Finn, hold him down!"

Finn clutched the struggling boy to his chest.

"Say cheese." He told him. "I would have thought you'd like having your photo taken?"

"Not family photos." Kurt grumbled, "I always look horrible." But he smiled, anyway.)

"You look so young." Ella beamed.

"Sixteen. That was taken a few months before he disappeared." Finn ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't know what to do. He doesn't want me to tell people that he's back. I guess he doesn't want them to see him like this. But he's damaged, he needs someone to help and this may seem selfish but I have to work. If I lose this job, I'll have to move back home and my mom can't support me. What if I'm already fired?"

Ella had a strange look on her face. Slightly distant. It was vaguely similar to that one Kurt used to get when he thought up one of those crazy plans…

Kurt awoke slowly, feeling warm and comfortable, which was a pleasant surprise. His eyes still hurt (a scratchy feeling, as though they were full of sand) but the pain was dulled and the world was dim, made up of patches of light. The light moved and a voice spoke softly.

"Hey. You awake?" Finn. Finn was here. That was good.

"Hmmm." Yes, he was awake, but obviously not enough to speak.

Finn laughed. "Those painkillers are working, then?" Finn's hand stroked over his hair. Human contact was wonderful, after six years without it and the warmth of Finn's hand sent pleasant shivers down his spine. The bed dipped as Finn lay down beside him. "You can't hog the bed anymore, I'm afraid. I can't sleep on my sofa, it's too small. We're going to have to share, if you don't mind."

"S'night time?"

"Yeah. You've been asleep for like, two days." Two days and he still felt tired? Must be the painkillers. He moved unconsciously nearer to the heat of Finn's body. Warm was good.

"You're going to have to go with me to work tomorrow. It was Ella's idea and I've blacked out my office, so you can stay in there. I got Brittany and Anna to look after you while you were asleep-"

"Anna?" Kurt mumbled, almost blissed out by the feeling of Finn's chest pressed against his back.

"Brit's girlfriend. They both work at McKinley, so Brit took the day off on Tuesday and Anna doesn't work Wednesdays, so it worked out. Brittany almost burned down the building, but it worked."

Finn's voice faded as Kurt closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was a soft laugh and Finn saying, "That boring, am I?"

"Does Figgins actually know about this?" Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow as Finn hurried him through the corridors of the high school.

"Not so much." Kurt imagined him looking around nervously as he was led through a door.

"Do you know where we are?" He could hear the grin in Finn's voice.

"No, Finn. I can't see."

"Oh, uh, sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's okay."

"We're, uh, in the choir room. I have Mr. Schue's old office." He pushed gently at the small of Kurt's back. Kurt heard the click of the door closing.

"There, you can take the glasses off, if you want to. I covered the windows, so it's dark enough."

Kurt removed the sunglasses, ignoring the dull throb as his eyes protested at the change of light.

"Thanks Finn. For doing all this." He started to feel around the small room. He'd never really appreciated the sense of touch that much, but now that his world had been reduced to dark and light shapes, it suddenly seemed that much more important. Still, he couldn't wait for his eyes to heal.

A hand touched his shoulder.

"My class starts in five, so I've got to go, but I'll come and check on you, okay?" He put something in Kurt's hand. "If you need me, call me with this. My cell is on speed dial and I've marked the key you need to press with a sticker. Can you feel it?" His hand guided Kurt's fingers.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Finn squeezed his hand once, quickly, before letting go. The door shut with a soft click. Kurt let out a soft sigh and felt around to find somewhere to sit. He was slowly getting used to it, not being able to see. It was difficult, certainly, but six years in almost complete darkness was in that way kind of useful.

What he was struggling with was Finn. While he had been locked in the basement, he'd imagined -or maybe hallucinated- Finn coming to save him. He'd retained his crush of the tall boy, imagining scenario after scenario until they all blended in to one, heroic image.

But Finn was no longer a boy. Six years. He probably had a girlfriend. And anyway, even if he hadn't, he was still as straight as he always had been, despite Kurt's attempts to convince him otherwise.

No matter how Kurt felt, that wouldn't change.

How did he know that he was thinking clearly, anyway? What if he was insane? That would be completely expected, of course, within these circumstances. It would be a miracle if he hadn't been a little...affected, after his experiences.

What if this was just another hallucination?

What if he woke up, in the dark, with the door locked and no food? He covered his face with shaking hands, his other hand fumbling at the phone. He stopped. It had only been five minutes, he couldn't phone Finn. He was a nuisance as it was. He'd be fine, sitting here.

After all, he'd managed for the six years by himself. He didn't need anyone now.

Finn sat at his desk, relieved that his students were, for once, working. In silence. It was most definitely a miracle.

He'd been thrilled when he'd found out that he'd be teaching the new music program that Figgins had reluctantly allowed. He hadn't realised, though, how difficult it would be. Not to mention the fact that when he had applied for the job, he'd unknowingly snatched away Sue Sylvester's latest opportunity to run the arts program. She was furious and Finn was nervously avoiding her around the corridors and even eating lunch in the choir room to avoid her in the staff room.

"Sir, who was that you brought in this morning?" someone shouted from the back of the classroom.

"Uh…" Finn struggled to think of something to say. "A friend. He's a friend. He used to come here as a student and wanted to see if it's changed."

"Did you come here then, Sir?" another voice chimed in.

"Yeah, I did. I was in Glee. But this isn't really vital to your work, so..." And the classroom returned

(almost) to its previous state of silence. Finn wondered if Kurt was okay.

This was going to be a really long day.

Finn headed to the cafeteria. Usually he'd make a sandwich to bring in with him, but in all the chaos of sneaking Kurt into school, he'd forgotten. So he lined up alongside students and the few unlucky teachers to get what could only just be described as food.

"Finn." A brown haired woman, probably on lunch duty, nodded to him. Her name was Anna and she was Brittany's girlfriend. She was nice, but in a serious, teacherly way and Finn was almost terrified of her.

"Oh, hey, Anna." He walked over and she looked at his lunch tray doubtfully.

"Should it be that grey?"

"Uh, I think so..."

"How's Kurt?"

"He's cool. I went to check on him before I came to get lunch. I think he's doing okay."

"You went to check on...wait, he's not here, is he?" She raised an eyebrow when Finn failed to answer. "He is. You brought him in to school?"

"Well, I couldn't leave him at home, could I, all by himself?"

"Was this Ella's Idea?"

"It might've been."

"I could kill that girl. Finn, if Figgins finds out about this..."

"I know, I just couldn't leave him. Not how he is."

"How he is? He seemed fine when I looked after him."

"Yeah, but you didn't see him on that first day. He was locked away for years. There's no way that he's going to be all right."

"Have you contacted his dad yet?"

"He doesn't want me to. I don't think he wants his dad to see him like this. And anyway, I don't even know how to contact him. When he left he didn't leave any contact details, or anything. He just vanished."

"Mr. Hudson! Sir!" Finn took one look at the face of the student who'd just come running up to him and his stomach lurched.

"Ella, what's wrong?"

"It's Ms. Sylvester. She's found Kurt."

Part V

"Okay and…go."

"A, D, N Q…O, X and S." Kurt grinned as Finn dropped the sheet of paper and bounded across the room. Kurt's feet almost left the floor as he was swept up in a huge hug.

"See, I told you it would get better."

"Hmmm," Kurt agreed, pulling back from the hug. "Do you know what the best part is? I can now see to get my own clothes. No more disgusting sweatpants and oversized shirts in questionable colours."

Finn pouted, feigning offence and Kurt laughed. He felt better than he had in…in what felt like forever.

"What I like is that you can help with Glee now without falling over the piano. Oh, and you could tidy my apartment?"

"I knew it. You only put up with me because you need a slave." Kurt sighed dramatically.

"I'm not letting you cook, though. You just make salads."

"I would kill for a nice salad after weeks of your cooking. I'll get fat."

"At least I won't be able to see your ribs anymore." When he said that Kurt noticed that Finn's voice had lost the gently teasing note, suddenly becoming completely serious.

"I was scared," the taller man admitted, looking down at his feet, "I was really worried about you."

Gingerly, Kurt patted his shoulder, "I'm s-"

"Don't. Don't apologise for this," Finn said, staring at him. They stood in silence for a moment, Kurt idly staring around the uninteresting walls of Finn's bedroom as if they were suddenly the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. They got even more interesting when Finn asked, "So, can we tell my mom you're back now? Now that your eyes are better and everything."

"I- I don't know," Kurt refused to look at Finn. Couldn't look at Finn. Thoughts of everyone knowing, knowing he was alive, knowing he'd been kept as a pet for years, knowing that Kurt wasn't alright and probably wouldn't be alright for some time, knowing that the indestructible, stalwart, strong Kurt Hummel was not so undefeatable after all. Knowing that the Kurt they had known was, for want of a better word, broken.

"Hey, it's okay, we don't have to. Kurt? Kurt…" Finn was waving a hand in front of Kurt's face, resting the other gently on his shoulder. Kurt realised he was shaking.

"Not ready, I get that. It's okay."

'Why does Finn have to be so nice?' Kurt thought venomously. 'He makes it that much harder for me by being so kind, so generous, not to mention adorkable and attracti- stop that, Kurt!' He scolded silently at himself.

"Kurt?" Finn looked genuinely worried and Kurt realised he probably should have responded by now. "Do you need to sleep for a bit? Are you tired? Do you feel sick?"

"No," Kurt shook his head, "no, I'm fine. Really, I am."

"D'you want me to cancel Rachel coming over?"

"N-no. No, it'll be…nice to see her. I think."

"She missed you, you know. I know you two didn't get along great, but she did miss you."

Kurt just nodded vacantly. "I think I might go out for a bit. Go shopping before she gets here." He just needed to get out. The room suddenly felt stifling, Finn's comforting presence becoming smothering. "I've got an hour, right?"

There was something that Kurt still found amazingly comforting about a clothing store. The bright colours, the textures of the materials, the soft shwoosh of the hangers on the rails and even the beep of the cash registers all served to calm and soothe. He drifted between stands, running his fingers along the sweaters and shirts with a blissful sigh. He had missed this so much.

Reluctantly he returned the clothes he'd just tried on to the rails. Finn had given him a small amount of money with an apology and a "This is all I can afford; I know it's not much," that had left Kurt buying T-shirts and jeans. He had to admit he was a little out of the loop when it came to fashion and he was looking forward to catching up, but jeans and tees seemed to still be the staple for Lima, Ohio.

When he saw the man on the other side of the shop, he couldn't at first recognise him. Then the man was walking towards him, lip curled in a smirk and he spoke.

"Fancy seeing you here, Kurt."

And Kurt froze. That voice.

A cold hand closed around his wrist and The Man leaned casually closer, his breath tickling Kurt's ear as he spoke.

Kurt was really quiet. Finn had just about got used to the fact that Kurt wasn't the same as he used to be, that he was prone to long silences and staring into space for hours at a time, but this was…different. Kurt's breathing was shaky, his hands clenched into fists, eyes glassy and staring at the wall of Finn's living room.

He didn't know what to do, really. While his life thus far had provided him with experience on how to pull off a last minute show choir performance or support a surprise-pregnant girlfriend, he wasn't exactly equipped to deal with a kidnap victim freaking out on his sofa.

"Kurt?" Kurt flinched when Finn touched his shoulder. "Dude, what's wrong?" Finn asked hesitantly, "Do you want to talk about it, or…"

Kurt jerked his shoulders in what could equally be a 'not sure' or 'don't touch me.'

"He really isn't okay, is he?'" Rachel said in a hushed, almost awed voice when he returned to the kitchen.

"No," Finn said, busying himself with hot chocolate making. That's what his mom always made when he was upset and really, it probably wouldn't help Kurt, but he was clutching at straws here. "He was better this morning. I don't know what happened." Was it something he had said? Had suggesting that Kurt talk to Carole been too much? Pushed him over some invisible edge that Finn hadn't been aware of?

"You should take him to a doctor," Rachel suggested carefully, and Finn had never been so glad that she had mellowed significantly after leaving high school, because the old Rachel would have already grabbed Kurt by the arm and dragged him there whether he wanted to or not.

"We did. They fixed his eyes."

"I meant a psychologist or a counsellor or something," Rachel said, her voice getting louder and Finn worried that Kurt would hear, because he had always hated people talking about him behind his back. "I mean, you haven't even been to the police-"

"Kurt doesn't want to and I don't want to force him," Finn said, possibly a little harshly. 'Rachel was only trying to help,' he thought guiltily.

"Finn," Rachel was being gentle now, which meant that she was about to say something Finn wouldn't like, "maybe…Kurt possibly isn't the best to judge a situation right now…"

"You mean you think he's crazy?" Finn asked, anger and protective urges flaring up, an uncomfortable heat building in his stomach.

"Finn, he was locked away for six years, he's bound to be-" but Finn was no longer listening.

"I'm not listening to this. You think I don't know? I know. After all, I was the only person who didn't give up on him. Even his own dad…even…" and then the anger was suddenly gone and Finn was crying into Rachel's shoulder, not entirely sure how he got there and with a crick in his neck because she hadn't grown since high school and that was a lot of height difference.

"Sorry," he whispered when the tears had subsided.

"Don't be. I shouldn't have pushed. I just wanted to-"

"Help, yeah, I know," Finn sighed. He wandered over to the kitchen door (only two strides for him, three for Kurt) to check on Kurt. He was still sitting aimlessly, staring at the wall.

"Finn?" Rachel's voice was hesitant, 'I just wanted to ask, are you and Kurt…?"

"Are me and Kurt what?" Finn asked, not entirely sure if she meant what he thought she meant.

"I mean, are you two… dating?"

"No," he said curtly, turning away and picking up the mug of hot chocolate, trying to make sense of the sudden surge of emotion.

"You like him though, don't you?"

Kurt's fingers curled around the handle of the mug and he blinked slowly, as if he was just waking up. Finn sat down next to him on the sofa while Rachel hovered to the side.

"You feeling better?"

"Yeah," Kurt said, his voice slightly shaky.

"What happened? Was it because I wanted to tell my mom, 'cause we really don't have too and I shouldn't-"

"No. It wasn't that," Kurt just sounded incredibly tired, "When I was shopping, I saw, well someon- something reminded me and I just panicked. That's all.' He smiled up at Rachel, "Rachel, it's great to see you." He got to his feet, still a little wobbly, and hugged her. "Why is your shoulder wet?"

Rachel shot Finn a quick look, "Oh, I don't know. I didn't notice it."

"I've never been so glad for it to be school break." Finn said loudly in a clumsy attempt to change the subject.

Kurt snorted, "You always said that when we were at McKinley, every time."

"So I was just a little gladder each time," Finn said, shuffling along the sofa, "Sit down, you two."

They sat, squished uncomfortably close.

'You really should have gotten a bigger apartment, Finn." Rachel said, 'Surely you could live without so many of those games you play?"

"I can live perfectly well in a small apartment, too," Finn replied. "I don't mind sharing a bed with Kurt." Oops, hadn't meant to say that. He blushed bright red, sneaking a glance at Kurt to see that he was doing the same.

Rachel just shook her head and stifled a smile.

Kurt couldn't sleep that night for two reasons. Firstly, there was the nagging, constant prickle of fear that came with the knowledge that his captor was still here, still here in Lima, potentially hiding in every shadow, behind every door, and even Finn's apartment wasn't safe. Kurt felt stupid, so, so stupid for living in that sense of calm, thinking for some strange reason that it was over, that he was safe even though The Man was still out there, thinking that just because he was with Finn he was immune to fear and pain.

Secondly was the fact that the visit from his once-rival to Finn's affection and Finn's offhand comment earlier had awoken Kurt to the fact that he, Kurt Hummel, was sharing a bed with Finn Hudson and his stupid, stupid heart kept thumping too loudly whenever he thought about it. Just to add to his predicament, Finn asleep was even more tactile that Finn awake, so for the last half an hour Kurt had been lying very still with Finn's heavy arm draped over his hip. This was, predictably, making his heart go double time and was preventing him from going to sleep in case he did something that tomorrow would cause him great embarrassment (and he still remembered the fiasco with his redecoration and Gaga and the raw, raw pain that that had caused for everyone involved.) So maybe Finn hadn't quite lived up to Kurt's six-years-plus fantasy of a knight in shining armour, but that hadn't stopped Kurt falling twice as hard twice as fast than he did in high school.

Every journey out of the house was a nightmare. Kurt spent his whole time on edge, too frightened to look up in case he saw The Man staring back from a crowd, or in a shop, or right beside him. The worst thing was that Kurt couldn't tell Finn, couldn't tell anyone because if he did-

'You tell your boyfriend anything and I'll kill him. And then I'll come back for you.'

He had considered telling Sue Sylvester purely because she was the one force that Kurt thought might be able to stop his tormentor. She was just as formidable as he remembered, but had been shockingly…nice when she had discovered him hiding in Finn's office. Finn had been almost hysterical with fear and convinced he was as good as fired but Sue just threw him a mild insult and offered to (if he ever found out) blackmail Figgins into letting Kurt stay.

But if Kurt told Sue and The Man found out? Kurt couldn't risk Finn's life like that.

"Kurt?" he jumped as Finn spoke right by his ear.

"Sorry! Sorry." Finn apologised, forehead wrinkling in concern, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm just a little jumpy," Kurt forced a smile, purposely not looking at the houses they passed as they walked along the street. Had the basement been along here? The Man could be inside any of these houses. Kurt could barely remember escaping or how he had found out where Finn lived, let alone any landmarks he had bumped into that might give a clue as to where he was held captive.

"Hey Kurt, Finn," Brittany answered the door of Anna's house, beaming widely. She grabbed Kurt's hand and dragged him inside. Kurt saw Finn's eyes widen, he was obviously worried that Kurt would freak out, but there was just something about the blonde woman that Kurt found instantly calming.

She squished him in a huge hug.

"I missed your baby skin."

"Britt, I saw you on Friday."

The atmosphere in the house over dinner was relaxed and friendly. Kurt couldn't understand why Finn was frightened of Anna. She was friendly, great with Brittany and could match Kurt in snarky humour without difficulty. Maybe she was a little sharp occasionally, or a bit cold in a way that reminded Finn of Quinn? Kurt couldn't decide what it was but Finn was quieter than usual all evening.

After the meal, they decided to watch a movie. Like Sue, Anna seemed to have developed quite the soft spot for Kurt, so it was with little debate that they settled down to watch Rent, Finn and Kurt on the couch, Brittany and Anna curled up together on the floor.

Ten minutes in, Finn started to wriggle. 'He can't be bored, he just can't,' Kurt thought in horror, 'not in Rent, surely?'

Finn's arm snaked its way around Kurt's shoulders and Finn settled down again, tugging Kurt closer until he leaned his head against Finn's chest.

Kurt ignored the pounding of his stupid, stupid heart and allowed himself to snuggle. Really, Finn had initiated the whole hugging thing, so what harm could it do?

Finn couldn't believe it. He hadn't cried in a film for, well… years, but now his eyes were definitely damp. He wasn't all out sobbing like Kurt (it terrified him when the smaller man first started weeping into his shirt, but Kurt had reassured him between hiccups that this happened every time) but his eyes were actually watering as he patted Kurt's back. Kurt, who moved from leaning on Finn to practically sitting on his lap about halfway through 'Without You'. Finn wouldn't be complaining about this, with his what was definitely More Than Brotherly Affection for Kurt, but he had a feeling that Kurt's feelings for him were no more than platonic. Finn could understand. Kurt had always been a touchy feely kind of guy and after six years alone, human contact must feel like the best thing in the world.

Finn's confirmation of this theory came forty-five minutes later when they were getting their coats and saying goodbye. Anna hugged Kurt and patted Finn's shoulder, then Brittany grabbed both of them in a three-hug.

"You make a really cute couple," she said as she let them go. And Kurt completely freaked out, staring blankly out of the door, body freezing, eyes getting wide.

"Kurt?" Finn didn't know what to do because this time he was the problem. Touch Kurt's shoulder reassuringly? But if Kurt finds someone thinking that they are a couple bad enough to freak out over, touching probably isn't the best thing to do.

"I think I might stay here," Kurt said abruptly, turning on his heel and walking back into the house, "if that's alright?" Anna looked equal parts worried and confused, but let him in.

"I guess I'd better go," Finn said around the lump in his throat and walked away from the house with a dull ache in the vicinity of his heart.

Something strange happened to Finn in the days that followed, an unusual urge to unplug his phone, switch of his cell and stock up on cookie dough ice cream, although maybe stocking up wasn't the right phrase because he tended to eat most of it as soon as he got home, curling up in front of the TV and eating straight from the tub. He also killed more zombies in three days than he had in the last month.

"Finn Hudson, open the fucking door!" was the first human voice not recreated by speakers that he had heard in days.

He opened the door to find Anna, looking like she hadn't slept once in the last year standing outside. She had never looked so terrifying. When she saw him she groaned,

"Just what I need, another emotional mess." She stalked into the room, leaving Finn standing, holding the door and gazing out into the now empty hall.

"Get some clean clothes on," Anna called from the kitchen when it finally registered that he should close the door, "and drive me home. I can't take one more night of Kurt pretending that he isn't crying into his pillow."

"I don't think I'll be the best cure for that," Finn mumbled, watching as she threw Ben and Jerry's tubs and chocolate wrappers into a large black plastic bag that she seemed to have produced from thin air.

"Don't be an idiot. I've heard nothing for the last two days from Kurt other than 'Finn hates me,' and I know for a fact that he's wrong." Anna gave Finn a looked that convinced him in two seconds that she could see right into his thoughts (and possibly his soul, too).

"But…what…he…" was all Finn could manage to say. Luckily, Anna could obviously see what he wanted to say.

"I don't know why he freaked out like that, he wouldn't say, but it wasn't about you, Finn," she sighed, "I don't know what it is with men and being oblivious, but he loves you." Finn opened his mouth to speak, but further proof that Anna could read his very thoughts interrupted him. "And not in a brotherly love way, Finn," Anna sighed again, this time far more impatiently, 'He's in love with you. A sure sign that he's insane."

Finn didn't bother to get out of his shirt-and-sweatpants-wallow-in-misery outfit before dragging Anna out to his car.

"Finn-" was all Kurt had time to say before he was smothered in a bear hug and lifted off the floor.

"M'sorry," Finn mumbled into the juncture between Kurt's neck and shoulder. This time it was Kurt patting Finn's shoulder. "I thought you were angry with me."

"No, never," Kurt wriggled a little and Finn realised that he was still holding him off the floor, "it was just bad timing," Kurt continued once his feet were actually touching the ground, "Something triggered a flashback and I just wanted to hide."

"So it wasn't because of what Brittany said?" Finn asked tentatively and Kurt looked puzzled.

"What did Britt say?" he asked and Finn actually giggled in a way that probably made him sound completely insane.

"What?" Kurt asked, smiling but a little apprehensive.

But Finn couldn't answer. 'I'm about to kiss Kurt,' he thought. 'This was happening, something big is about to happen and it's that I'm going to kiss Kurt. Kurt kissing…' And he stopped thinking about it and just did it.

He angled his head, forward and down, and it seemed that Kurt's body knew that it was going to happen, even if the soprano himself didn't, because he leaned forward too. Kurt made a soft noise of surprise when their lips met, making Finn falter but he didn't pull away and the small hand tangling into Finn's hair told him that yes, Kurt wanted this too.

The kiss soon turned less chaste and when they broke apart both young men were breathing heavily.

"Come home?" Finn asked tentatively, hopefully.

"I- I can't…" Kurt stuttered.

"Why not?"

"Be- because…he…he must be out there somewhere."

Finn knew instinctively who Kurt was talking about.

"We could go to the police," he suggested and Kurt's reaction was instant and violent.

"No!" he tore himself from Finn's arms, backing away, "I said we couldn't go to them! I said that before, we can't and I won't and…"

"Okay, not the police," Finn soothed, coaxing Kurt back into his arms, pressing a small kiss to his hair, then to his cheek, "But I'll keep you safe, okay? I won't leave you alone, even for a second if that's what you want, if that's what it takes, yeah?"

Kurt nodded silently.

"Okay," Finn repeated, inwardly cursing his inability to express his thoughts and feelings exactly as they were in his head. "Dude- Kurt, I really, really care about you, okay? I guess the kissing might have given you a clue, but…you know, I wanted this before you left? I kept trying to ask you, but I could never say the right things, you know, like ask you on a date, so I just tried to spend more time with you and I was an idiot. I should have just come out and said it…' he stopped rambling as Kurt's finger tips brushed his cheek. They were rough now, calloused, and although the recommence of Kurt's various routines was starting to return them to their pre-kidnap condition, Finn couldn't help but imagine Kurt scrabbling at the walls of his dark prison.

"The DVD night?" Kurt said softly, "was that one of these almost dates?"

"Yeah," Finn felt himself drawn back to Kurt's lips again, as if they were some sort of…Finn-magnet. Kurt smiled into the kiss.

"Let's go home, then." He smiled at Finn nervously and took his hand.

Things were possibly moving too quickly, Finn supposed, but they had been living together, sharing the same bed and going out together for the last couple of months, not to mention the time before the summer of 2010. And they'd been friends for, like, ever. He realised suddenly, just as Kurt's nimble fingers moved onto his belt buckle, that he'd been essentially dating Kurt for a substantial amount of time. Never mind that their first kiss had been only a week ago, their first make-out session six days five hours and oh, he should really be paying attention to the current situation because he was suddenly wearing only his boxers and Kurt was (comparatively) overdressed.

As soon as that problem was remedied, Finn was struck by another thought, that being that this was all a bundle of firsts for Kurt: first ever kiss, first ever make-out session, and now they were probably going to- oh, no, definitely, probably definitely going to have sex.

Kurt was so tiny and fragile looking and would he break? Finn had a moment of panic, but it was broken and replaced with waves- no, tidal waves- of pleasure and Kurt (small, fragile-looking and surprisingly demanding) was underneath him, and being very vocal about it.

Everything was hot skin and gasping breath. He felt Kurt's back arch in a seamless curve.

Maybe things were moving at about the right speed after all.

"That was nice," Kurt whispered, sometime later. Finn hummed in response, floating on the pleasant fuzzy feeling that seemed to fill the small room. Nice, very, very nice.

Kurt sighed, "Need a shower, though," but he didn't look like he was going to move anytime soon as he rested his head on Finn's chest.

"Later," Finn mumbled.

"Mmm."

'Bing bing bing!'

Still hadn't changed that doorbell, he really must do that.

"I'll get it," Finn yelled in the direction of the bed, pulling on a shirt and sweatpants. A sleepy agreement came from the Kurt sized lump of duvet. Finn couldn't help tickling one of the feet that stuck out from what could only be described as a nest of blankets, earning himself an indignant squawk.

The bell started to ring again just as Finn got to the door.

"I'm coming!" He opened the door, then did a double take.

"Mom?"

"Finn."

"Why are you here? I mean, great to see you and everything, but…"

"You didn't answer your phone when I called."

"I was asleep."

"You know where he is, don't you?"

"Who?" But Finn knew who she meant and he knew exactly where 'he' was- in Finn's bed.

"Finn?" Or not. He heard Kurt's feet on the carpet behind him and braced himself for the inevitable explosion.

"Kurt?" Carole stared, mouth agape, and Finn wasn't entirely sure who made the first move but suddenly there were hugging and squeals and Finn's mom was hugging Finn's boyfriend, which was a little weird when he thought about it.

"Kurt! How long have you been…I heard on the news…"

"Heard what on the news?" Finn demanded, seeing Kurt begin to freeze up, a sure sign of an impending freak out. Gently he extracted Kurt from Carole's motherly grip. "Mom? What was on the news?" he asked again urgently.

"Someone spotted you," Carole said to Kurt, "said she saw you with a man near here and I knew it was you," she said, looking sternly at Finn. "What were you thinking not telling the police, or at least coming to see me?"

Finn noticed that Kurt was shrinking into the oversized shirt of Finn's he was wearing.

"Mom, stop. Can we just go inside?" he wrapped an arm around Kurt's shoulders and steered him back into the apartment. "You going to be okay?" he asked as he sat Kurt down on the sofa.

Kurt nodded, staring down at his lap in a way that said to Finn 'probably not'.

"No police, not now anyway. I promise," he said and pressed a quick kiss to Kurt's lips.

"Finn?" He had almost forgotten that Carole was standing there and he blushed deeply. That was not the way he had imagined coming out to his mom. To be honest, he hadn't thought about that at all.

"I, uh, we are…" he waved his hands noncommittally, but Carole just smiled.

"I can't say I'm surprised. I always thought before that you two could end up as…well, more than friends."

Finn didn't really know what to say to that, so he looked back to Kurt who was smiling, if a little shakily.

"Better?"

"Yeah." Finn took a deep breath and switched on the TV.

"…is the possible sighting of Kurt Hummel, the teenager who vanished from his father's garage over six years ago. Kurt was presumed dead until two days ago when a women shopping in her local grocery store apparently spotted him in the company of a 'tall, shifty looking man.' Unfortunately, the woman, a resident of Lima, Ohio, wishes to remain anonymous…"

"Shifty?" Carole raised an eyebrow, looking sideways at Finn.

Kurt giggled, "We were probably in the organic section. It does usually make him feel uncomfortable being around all those raw vegetables."

Finn ignored them, "Doesn't sound like they believe this mystery spy. I think we're probably okay."

"Why don't you want people to know you've been found?" Carole asked Kurt gently.

"I…I…can't…" Kurt seemed to be stuck for words, "He might find me again and…"

The doorbell rang, and Finn saw the relief in his eyes.

"I'll get that," the taller man said, "Mom, don't be too hard on him, okay?"

'Please, no more questions,' Kurt thought as Finn crossed the room to the door. He turned to look at Carole, willing her not to insist on an answer.

Thud. The sound of a body hitting the floor, a gasp from Carole and then the cold metal of a gun pressed to the back of his head.

"They've been asking questions at the hospital where I work," the cool voice of The Man said from behind him. "The police, talking to me." The gun was slowly moved around, muzzle running along the line of his jaw, then across until it stopped, digging into the soft flesh of Kurt's cheek. The Man leaned closer and hissed his next words close to Kurt's ear, "Does that have something to do with you? Did you tell them? Anything?"

"N-no, nothing, I swear," Kurt tried to turn his head but the threatening pressure of the gun stopped him. "Finn. What have you done to him?" he demanded, trying to hide the quiver in his voice.

"He's just unconscious. It's what I'm going to do to you that you should be worried about. Get up."

Kurt and Carole rose slowly to their feet.

"To the door," The Man instructed. "Walk. Slowly." When they reached the door he turned the gun to point at Carole, "Kurt, you bring your boyfriend."

"You can't expect him to do that! Finn's heavy," Carole finally exploded.

"He will do it," The Man said calmly, "or I shoot."

Kurt carefully bent down to Finn's prone form, sliding his hands under the tall man's shoulders. He pulled and Finn moved a couple of millimetres at best. Finn's head lolled in a way that made Kurt feel as though he was about to throw up.

As they slowly moved across the hall, The Man began to get anxious and twitchy.

"Faster," he demanded, "Faster or he's dead. I don't have time to waste."

With a deep breath that sounded closer to a sob, Kurt lifted Finn's shoulders higher, stumbling as he increased the painfully slow pace. The Man took them to a door a little way down the hall, unlocking it with one hand, the other still clutching the gun that moved between pointing at Carole, to Kurt, to Finn and back to Carole again. When they were all inside he locked the door behind them.

"In here," he ordered Kurt to an empty room where he was told to leave Finn.

"Stand against the wall, both of you. Opposite sides." They did so, and The Man began to search through Carole's pockets, his back to Kurt. 'This is the only chance I'm going to get,' Kurt realised, 'before my pockets are also searched.' Silently, he slid his new phone from his pocket, fumbling with the keys. He could hear his heart beating as if it was right up in his head. He selected Anna's number and opened a blank text message. As he typed he tried to muffle the clicking of the keys with his scarf.

'Kidnaper found us, taken me, Finn, Carole 2 apartment opposite finns. call police please hurry.'

He had just clicked send when there came an angry shout and something collided with the side of his head. Kurt sank to his knees as his phone fell from his hand. It skittered across the floor and he reached for it but a boot-clad foot descended on it, crushing the flimsy device in a single hard stamp. The same foot lashed out again, catching Kurt's wrist with a sharp crack. Kurt howled in pain, tucking his arm to his chest as his hand throbbed. Large, clumsy hands checked his pockets as he lay there, then the heavy footsteps moved toward the door.

"Don't try and escape," The Man said softly, "or it will be more that your wrist that gets broken."

The second the door was closed and the keys turned in the lock, Carole was at his side. Kurt cringed away from her, curling his body into a tight bundle, resisting the need to cry out in agony as he moved his arm. A hand touched his hair, stroking it, regular and comforting.

"Finn, where's Finn?" Kurt felt his heart race faster in fear. If Finn was dead… he stifled a sob.

"Shh, shh. Okay, Sweetie, shh,' the soothing gesture calmed him and despite the pain he felt his body relax a little. "That's it, Sweetie, okay, it'll be okay."

"Promise?" Kurt asked, his voice rough and maybe Carole realised that he was testing her, because the hand on his head stilled and she shook her head.

"You know I can't promise you that, Kurt."

He nodded, then rested his head back down on the carpet, "I know."

There was silence for a few minutes, only broken by Kurt's ragged breathing.

"You've grown so much, since you…left," Carole said eventually.

"I'm still short. Probably a side effect of being kept in the dark," Kurt replied.

"I'm sorry I gave up on you. Finn never did, you know."

"I know. And apology accepted." Kurt took a deep, shuddering breath, "I'm an adult now," he said, shocked when his eyes began to blur with tears. It had never struck him before, "I'm twenty two."

"Congratulations, Kurt."

"But I still feel sixteen," he said quietly. "I feel like he took half my life from me, but like all that time I was in some sort of stasis, a gap of non-existence, like I'm still sixteen. But I can't get back."

"That's okay," Carole said, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. "Finn and I are here, we've got you. Every step of the way."

"I kind of," he sniffed, "kind of want my dad right now, you know?"

She didn't seem to know what to say to that. Painfully, Kurt sat upright, cradling his arm to his chest.

"We need to check on Finn."

He was still lying there on his side, just as Kurt had left him, his breathing even and deep, a raised lump on the side of his head. Carole checked his pulse with shaking fingers.

"Fine, absolutely fine," she said, her relieved laugh quivering.

And the quiet of the room was broken as the wail of sirens came from outside.

"The police," Carole said hopefully. She jumped to her feet, hurrying over to the boarded up window. She tried to pry the wood and plastic away to see out, but it was nailed down tight.

"Anna must've got my message," Kurt felt a flicker of hope in his chest.

But that was before the door was flung open, The Man striding inside. Kurt cowered instinctively.

"You! This is your fault! The police are outside, surrounding us because of you!" he snarled at Kurt, towering over the crouched figure.

"Sorry sorry sorry…"

"Not enough," he had the gun out again, black metal glinting in the low light. "Now you've got to choose." First he pointed it at Finn, then slowly moved to Carole.

"No, no I can't choose…you can't make me."

"Choose!"

"N-no, please," Kurt felt like he was going to choke on his tongue, his mouth was dry, his heart pounding. The Man's words echoed round and round, scratching at him with viciously sharp claws. And he couldn't make that choice, never, never, never…

"Then I get to, it's that simple. And I choose…" The gun swung slowly back to point at Finn. The Man took a couple of steps closer to the still body, finger stroking the trigger. He bent over Finn, resting the gun against his forehead. Finn didn't stir, just lying there as if he were sleeping.

"No!" Kurt screamed, vaguely aware that Carole was on her feet with a scream of her own, the protective mother defending her child.

"So you made your choice?" The Man said, smiled and pulled the trigger.

Carole dropped mid-stride as she made to attack him, hitting the floor with a heart lurching thud.

Kurt was frozen to the spot, chest tight with pain as he saw blood blossom on her blouse.

"Carole!" Finally he was able to move, pitching forward to kneel at her side. Carole's eyes were glassy, her breath rattling in her chest.

"Carole stay awake, okay?" Kurt insisted, his voice thick with tears. He turned to The Man, "Please, let her out of here, get her down to an ambulance, or…or…you're a doctor, just help her! Help her, please…" The Man turned to the door. "NO! Don't leave, HELP, HELP HER! PLEASE…"

The door slammed. Wildly, Kurt tuned to Carole, pressing his hands against the wound in her chest, feeling the blood bubble under his fingers with each shallow (and shallower and shallower) breath she took. Blood soaked his hands and his shirt, so, so much blood.

"No, no nono, please hold on, Carole please."

Her eyes closed, breath barely audible.

Kurt kept his hands there long after she'd stopped altogether, body shuddering, wrist aching excruciatingly, soft keening noise rising from his throat. Eventually he fell away, rolling onto his back. He stared blankly at the ceiling, unblinking, numb. It was as if he was descending into some sort of trance. He couldn't move, couldn't think, just keep staring. Up and up, through the ceiling, up into the stars and the void of silent space.

If he hadn't escaped, this would never have happened. Finn wouldn't be unconscious, Carole wouldn't be lying there with a fatal hole in her chest. In his mind, up in the soundless void, Kurt screamed and screamed and screamed.

It could have been minutes or seconds later when he heard Finn.

"Mom…K-, no, no, Mom. No. No!" Kurt heard him stumble backwards away from the body. That must have been when he noticed Kurt lying there.

"Kurt! Oh, god, not you, please, not Kurt…" Kurt lying there, glassy eyed, in a blood soaked shirt.

Finn's fingers were pressing against his neck, searching frantically for a pulse, Kurt still couldn't move.

Finn was feeling in the wrong place, his hands becoming even more desperate as he fumbled. He was crying, Kurt felt hot tears land on his skin.

Kurt parted his lips, trying to speak but no words came out. He tried again.

"Finn," he croaked. Finn's reaction would have been comical in any other situation. A double take, blank face, then the urgent examination of Kurt, hand brushing over his face, undoing his shirt, sticky with blood.

"Where are you hurt?"

"Not my blood." At the thought, Kurt felt bile rise in his throat. Finn's fingers brushed his swollen wrist, the wave of pain making him retch violently, black pinpricks dancing before his eyes.

"Going to faint," he wasn't sure if he said it out loud. He could hear the slamming and crashing of doors from somewhere in the flat. Yells and gunshots. Someone was trying to break down the locked door.

"The police are here, Kurt." Finn's voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere else too, "Kurt? Can you hear me? Kurt? It's going to be okay. I promise."

Part VI

The cast was heavy on his wrist, creating an odd tugging feeling on his right arm, but Finn was doing his best to distract him from that mild discomfort, his lips against the back of Kurt's neck, hot breath making him shiver, and his arms draped possessively around the smaller man's waist as they lay together on the hospital bed. Kurt gave a little huff as Finn's hand slid down past his navel.

"Not here, Finn."

"Sorry."

Kurt turned in his arms to meet his lips in a slow, lazy kiss. Finn played with the short hair at the nape of his neck.

Footsteps and the sound of the door opening made him flinch a little, pulling back from Finn. A quick glance was enough to calm any nerves, however.

"Good morning, Anna."

Her gaze flicked up to the clock on the wall. "Afternoon, don't you mean?" she asked lightly, perching on the end of the bed as the two men sat up.

"No Brittany today?" Kurt asked.

Anna smiled, "That's why I'm here. Brittany is on her way to the airport."

"Why?" Kurt frowned.

"Is that safe?" Finn added, then ducked away from Anna's glare.

"Well, for a while I've been trying to track down a certain mechanic, formerly of Hummel's Tyre and Lube," she explained, grinning at the expression of delight that took over Kurt's face. "I had a break through last Monday and now he's," her eyes flitted back to the clock for a second, "about to land in Lima for the first time in four years. And his first stop is Lima General Hospital, room four-oh-eight." She made a little bow.

"You're amazing," Kurt beamed, then added, "So are you, Finn," when he saw the signs of an impending pout. He still couldn't understand the air of competition between Anna and Finn, but he did find it mildly entertaining.

Anna, obviously pleased with herself, pranced out of the room to get a coffee.

"Finn?" Kurt said after a moment's thought, "Do you think we could maybe take my dad to say goodbye to Carole?" He rested his head against Finn's shoulder as strong arms wrapped gently around his waist.

"Yeah," Finn said, "I think she'd like that."


End file.
